Tag Archives: Keith Thurman

There is been a lot of talk about Errol Spence Jr. and how good he might become. The boxing world will find out Saturday if Spence is indeed the real deal when he challenges Kell Brook for his welterweight title at Bramall Lane Football Ground in Brook’s native England (on Showtime).

Current welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman and former champion DannyGarcia this week were asked to handicap what figures to be an entertaining bout. They, too, are anxious to see what their fellow American can do in this one.

“This is an interesting fight,” Thurman said. “I have not followed Kell too much, but I have obviously seen Errol fight in the U.S. Errol is a tough, young fighter who is just getting into the public’s eye, and Kell obviously has the strength of the British crowd on his side.

“It should be a tough fight that really speaks to the strength of the welterweight division. Both fighters are men that I would be open to fighting as I continue to unify the division in 2018.”

Thurman in March won a split-decision over Garcia in a title-unification bout at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Garcia believes this fight is a tossup.

“I think this is a 50/50 fight,” he said. “I think the person with the better game plan is going to win. There’s a lot of pressure to go into someone’s backyard like Spence is doing, and he’s never faced a fighter in his prime before like Brook.

“It’s definitely a big test for him and a big step up in competition. If he is ready, he can do it.”

Leo Santa Cruz of Lincoln Heights is going to get a chance to avenge the only loss of his career when he takes on Carl Frampton in a featherweight world title fight Jan. 28 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It was one of several fights announced Tuesday that will be televised by Showtime.

Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KOs) lost his championship belt to Frampton when Frampton beat him via majority decision July 30 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Frampton (23-0, 14), of Northern Ireland, won by scores of 114-114, 116-112 and 117-111.

Also on this card, Mikey Garcia (35-0, 29 KOs) of Oxnard will challenge Dejan Zlaticanin (22-0, 15 KOs) of Montenegro for his lightweight world title.

Among the other fights announced was the March 4 welterweight title-unification bout between Keith “One Time” Thurman and Danny Garcia. There is not yet a venue for this one, and it apparently is contingent upon Garcia (32-0, 18 KOs) beating Samuel Vargas in a Nov. 12 tuneup bout in Garcia’s native Philadelphia.

Although two of his past three fights have gone the distance, welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman is known as a fighter who can knock out any opponent, what with his record of 26-0 and 22 knockouts.

It’s what he wanted to be able to do when he grew up taking apart older boxers.

“I’ve always considered myself a knockout artist, back to when I was a teenager knocking out grown men in headgear,” said Thurman, who will defend his title June 25 when he takes on Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on CBS). “Ever since then, I’ve been dropping people like a bad habit.”

Stopping opponents inside the distance is what Thurman lives for, so it’s not surprising to find out the name of his boxing idol.

“I love being a power-puncher,” said Thurman, of Clearwater, Fla. “My favorite fighter of all time is Mike Tyson. One of my goals that I set when I was a kid was to have more knockouts than Mike Tyson throughout my career.”

Keith “One Time” Thurman has been a prize-fighter for some 8 1/2 years, but this is his 20th year in the game after taking up the sweet science at age 7 as part of an after-school program.

Thurman has plenty for which to be thankful, and he spoke about that this week as he continued preparation for his welterweight title defense against Shawn Porter on June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on CBS).

“It’s been an amazing journey and no one predicted this better than my first coach BenGetty,” Thurman, 27, said. “It puts me in a state of gratitude for Ben. He told everyone I’d be world champ, and here I am, defending my title against Shawn Porter. I am just starting to see what Ben Getty saw in me and the mark that I can make in boxing.”

Thurman, who is now trained by Dan Birmingham and assistant Chris Getty – Ben Getty’s son – is 26-0 with 22 knockouts. He won the interim title in July 2013 with a 10th-round knockout of Diego Gabriel Chaves in July 2013 and became full champion with a wide unanimous decision over Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero in March 2015; Thurman has made one successful defense.

The fight with Guerrero was only the fourth time Thurman had been taken the distance. He takes pride in his knockout ratio of 81 percent.

“My goal is to be known as the hardest-hitting welterweight in the division,” said Thurman, of Clearwater, Fla. “This camp, if anything, I feel more comfortable. I’m fully recovered, sparring, training. I’ve been throwing power punches for what seems like forever and it’s a little weird. I can’t help but think about how this is my 20th year in boxing and knowing the longevity I’ve had. It’s given me a new confidence.”

Thurman and Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs) were to fight in March, but Thurman sustained whiplash in a February car crash and the fight was postponed.

“Sugar” Shane Mosley and David Avanesyan face off ahead of their fight Saturday, won by Avanesyan via unanimous decision/AP photo by Ross D. Franklin

When you consider“Sugar” Shane Mosley is 44, he looked good Saturday during his 12-round unaimous-decision loss to David Avanesyan of Russia at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The very idea that a man Mosley’s age could give a respectable account of himself against a fighter 17 years his junior, was impressive.

But in talking to Mosley a couple of days before the fight, he wasn’t still fighting so he could have people say he looked good for an old man. He said he was still active because of his love for the sport and because he thought he was still good enough to win at the top level.

Well, even though Avanesyan came in with an interim welterweight title, he did not come into the fight with an impressive list of opponents and he had never fought in the U.S. As the interim champion, he is in line to face the June 25 winner of the fight between full champion KeithThurman and Shawn Porter. Avanesyan would seem to have little change against either man.

The point is, if Mosley can’t beat Avanesyan, he should hang up his gloves once and for all. Mosley has had a great career. He will be in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. It’s been a great ride.

Keith “One Time” Thurman retained his welterweight world title with a unanimous decision over Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (32-3-1) in the main Saturday night at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on NBC). Thurman decked Guerrero in the ninth round, but Guerrero showed tremendous toughness by giving Thurman plenty of grief over the final three rounds, bringing roars from the crowd.

Thurman (25-0) won by scores of 120-107, 118-109 and 118-108. Both battered fighters went to a local hospital for precautionary measures, according to the broadcast team on NBC.

Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, left, will defend his welterweight title Saturday against Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero in the main event at MGM Grand in Las Vegas/Photo by Jae C. Hong, Associated Press

If you’re not looking forward to Saturday’s main event between welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman and Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on NBC), you might want to check to see if you still have a pulse for prize-fighting.

Although Thurman (24-0) went the distance in his most recent fight – a 12-round shutout of Leonard Bundu in December at MGM Grand – he has otherwise lived up to his nickname with 21 knockouts in 24 starts. He was asked this week what fans can expect to see against Guerrero.

“I’ll be honest, I’m going to stand there and exchange with him for six rounds and if he’s still standing there, we’ll see,” said Thurman, 26, of Clearwater, Fla. “With my punching power, the KO can come at any time with that one punch. If he walks into it or I lunge at him … it can even be a body shot.

“I’m just looking to get him out of there. I’m going to do what I need to do to stay a champion.”

Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs), 31, has held world titles in featherweight and super featherweight divisions and interim world titles in the lightweight and welterweight divisions. He realizes what the hard-hitting Thurman can bring to the ring.

“Thurman has a lot of power and that’s something I must be aware of,” said Guerrero, of Gilroy.

Golden Boy Promotions has announced it will play host to a Showtime tripleheader to be contested April 26 at StubHub Center in Carson.

The main event will feature Keith “One Time” Thurman defending his interim welterweight title against Julio Diaz.

Also, Omar Figueroa will defend his lightweight title against Jerry Belmontes. And John Molina of Covina will take on former junior welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse in a 10-round fight. Molina (27-3, 22 KOs) and Matthysse (34-3, 32 KOs) have 54 knockouts between them, so that figures to be a fight that does not go the distance.

“I am excited to showcase myself against someone that I consider to be one of the best fighters in the world at 140 pounds,” said Molina, who has campaigned mostly as a lightweight. He is a graduate of Charter Oak High.

Keith “One Time” Thurman on Saturday will defend his interim welterweight title against Jesus Soto Karass (28-8-3, 18 KOs) of Mexico on the undercard of the welterweight title fight between champion Adrien Broner and Marcos Maidana at the Alamodome in San Antonio (on Showtime).

Thurman (21-0, 19 KOs), of Clearwater, Fla. was recently asked about previously calling out Paulie Malignaggi while Malignaggi was still champion, or before he lost his title to the aforementioned Broner this past June in Brooklyn.

“Paulie was on my mind due to that title, but when Adrien Broner took it, then that makes me look forward to stepping into that ring with ‘AB’ in 2014,” Thurman said. “A lot of fans want that fight and I want what the fans want.”

Indeed, a fight between Broner and Thurman would be highly anticipated. Broner is well established and about as cocky as they come. Thurman is a legitimate world-class fighter who would give just about any welterweight in the world a run for his money on a given night.

If you have yet to catch the work of Keith “One Time” Thurman, you’ll get another chance on July 27 when the heavy-handed welterweight takes on another hard-hitter in Diego Gabriel Chaves of Argentina in an interim title fight at AT & T Center in San Antonio (on Showtime).

Thurman is 20-0 with 18 knockouts. His moniker speaks for itself. He has nine first-round knockouts, eight of them coming consecutively at the outset of his career.

“I’m looking forward to fighting for an interim title and doing it against someone like Chaves,” said Thurman, of Clearwater, Fla. “I’m not going to have to chase him or get him to fight. We’re going to battle and I’m going to be the last man standing.”

After voicing his appreciation for this fight, Chaves (22-0, 18 KOs) became patriotic.

“We’re proud people and proud fighters in Argentina,” he said, “and I’m going to show this to the world July 27.”

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